Umno is not as dirty as portrayed by social media netizens or online journalists, said its vice-president and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"Umno is not as dirty as how these unethical journalists, who worked outside the (framework of) conventional media, have made it out to be, just like those (messages spread) in Facebook, WhatApps, YouTube and Telegram," he said.

These writers have no basis to make the claims, he said in an interview with Berita Harian in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the party.

It's easier for these writers to utter baseless allegations which will be spread by their followers, he said.

Eighty-seven percent of the information collected by these online writers or anti-establishment group was meant to influence the mindset of the community and to create perceptions, he said, quoting the figure based on information.

He criticised news portals for having their own agenda, which the public in general had failed to comprehend.